The Physical Side of the Fringe

This year's Fringe might satiate hunger of dance and physical theatre addicts. Apart from the rich Dance Base programme, several Fringe venues like Zoo and C venues feature shows that attempt to answer big questions about the nature of contemporary dance. What is contemporary dance? How does it differ from ‘non-contemporary’ and what is its purpose? What do the audience get out of it? Curiously enough, two shows, A Propos de Butterfly at Zoo Southside and Am I… Naked? at C venue mix the physical and the intellectual spicing the shows with their own metacommentaries.

A Propos de Butterfly, part of The 48th International Choreographer’s Showcase, is an intriguing interpretation of Pucini’s opera and its strength lies in the combination of different art forms: contemporary dance, gestural hip-hop, human puppet manipulation, and visual images projected during the show. While the three artists narrate the story through their unique movement techniques, the company director José Besprosvany interrupts the performance to comment on the piece, its purpose and meaning. This strong and thought-provoking show was followed by rather timid dance pieces, lulling the audience into rather stagnant state. However, the diverse performances of the American dance quartet take the audience’s breath away answering Besprosvany’s question about contemporary dance and defining its wide scope.

Refreshingly different, Am I… Naked? is not a predictable dance performance. Choreographed by Jennie Fletcher, it brings fresh and unforced ideas into play and like A Propos de Butterfly it tries to define contemporary dance. Talented dancers and live musicians from TrinityLaban cleverly explore the fear of being exposed on the stage through smooth and beautiful dance sequences and improvised music. The witty and humorous choreography has the quality of fragility and niceness. While the show explores an unusual territory of dance, it successfully glues random and sketchy scenes into a cohesive whole.

Home by Theatre Oikos is a sentimental show exposing a tough life of an immigrant in Britain. Although the play feels more like a work in progress than a finished piece, there are many good ideas in it that are worth further exploration. The play combines dance and physical theatre, but this ambitious fusion doesn’t always work. For example, the train scene and vague references to Kindertransport are too random to fit into the main narrative of the show. The crowded dance sequences weaved into some thought-provoking scenes are the strength of this performance. What the show lacks though is strong writing and good acting.

Enjoyable and humorous, Boh at C Chambers Espresso Teatro Italiano is a dance piece that’s both impressive but also slightly dull. Although I thought the performer is a really talented dancer, the choreography seemed to have recycled old ideas, almost verging on the cliché. The vibrant opening of the piece was strong, but then the piece kept slowing down and lacked a clear sense of direction. The wardrobe story is intriguing and could be exploited to a greater extent as it feels quite superficial. Despite this criticism, I should say that the audience seemed to have enjoyed this performance.